What to do when your cruise company goes bust

This is what happens when your cruise is cancelled, and what you can do about it...

Thousands of holidaymakers are facing cancelled cruises after the All Leisure Holidays group went bust yesterday. The company owns Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery cruise lines, which had to cancel New Year cruises at late notice.

This means that 13,000 holidays have been cancelled and 400 people are currently stranded abroad. They will be repatriated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

On its website, the holiday company has said: ‘Regrettably, and due to the adverse financial position of ALH, the business has ceased to trade resulting in the majority of employees being made redundant and the cancellation of all future voyages.’ The administrators are Grant Thornton.

The good news is All Leisure holidays is ATOL-protected. This means that the CAA is making arrangements to refund everyone affected and it’s unlikely anyone will have to make a travel insurance claim.

If you are already abroad on your holiday, the CAA will help you. It is speaking to providers to arrange alternative accommodation but holidaymakers may have to pay for it and then get a refund. Flights back to the UK are still valid, so travellers can check with their airline operator, who may be able to change their flight.

There is a helpline for anyone overseas 0808 164 8810, but the lines may be busy and the call will be charged.

If you were due to travel with a flight you have two options…

1. Don’t travel and get a refund If you booked with All Leisure and paid for any of it with your credit card, you can make a claim through your credit card company. Anything not paid on a credit card can be claimed through the CAA. If you booked with a travel agent, you will have to claim your money back through them.

2. Travel on the same terms If you want to travel anyway, you can do so as long as you make new holiday arrangements at the same standard as the old ones. For example, you need the same standard of board (eg half-board) in order to avoid paying any extra. If you paid with a credit card, you need to check what they’ll let you claim. Otherwise, you can claim through the CAA. Make sure you keep all of your receipts.

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